Oxfordshire’s updated local flood risk management strategy approved
After a year that saw a number of very notable flooding events in Oxfordshire, updated plans for “getting ahead of the game” with the issue have been published.
Today, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet approved the new local flood risk management strategy (LFRMS), which it was required to develop in its role as lead local flood authority.
Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “We need to try to get ahead of the game when it comes to flooding, otherwise the economic and social losses are likely to spiral to an uncontrollable level.
“We're moving away from sporadic floods, every few years, to multiple sequential clusters of them. The next ratchet up is continuous flooding over an extended period. We need to pre-empt that, which is why it is so important that strategies like the LFRMS are updated regularly.”
The new strategy, which was put together following a public consultation, covers a five year period but also looks at the longer-term considerations, particularly in relation to climate change.
It outlines the roles and responsibilities of partners and sets out five objectives to guide flood risk management efforts, each supported by a set of measures.
The five objectives are: improving understanding; greater collaboration; ensuring holistic and sustainable approaches are used; preventing increases in flood risk; and improved communication.
Measures include the continued preparation of a list of priority locations and potential schemes, improving knowledge of flood hotspots, developing an existing local flood wardens pilot scheme, and liaising with town and parish councils to develop community emergency plans.
Cllr Sudbury added: “As we saw last winter after Storm Henk, Oxfordshire is on the frontline for risk of flooding, both from rivers and from groundwater, which is much harder to predict. Then in September, the county suffered its wettest month since records began in 1836.
“Flooding is devastating, and fear of being flooded again can have a terrible impact on people’s lives. When it comes to flood prevention, resilience and protection, there are no simple answers, and everyone has a role to play, including the whole public sector, the Environment Agency, water companies, farmers and landowners, local government, and residents themselves.”
The updated LFRMS follows the formation of the Oxfordshire strategic flood risk group last month, which is bringing together key organisations responsible for tackling flooding and improving the county’s readiness for it.
The updated LFRMS will be published on the Oxfordshire Flood Toolkit Library.
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